


Crash Course In Wilderness Survival

by Devils_Official



Series: Askbox Fics [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Broken Bones, Crash Landings, Developing Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Near Death Experiences, Zarkon’s A+ Parenting, bodyguard sendak, head injuries, infections, survival situations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-12-26 14:40:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18284345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Devils_Official/pseuds/Devils_Official
Summary: When Prince Lotor crash-lands on an uninhabited planet, it falls to his reluctant bodyguard, Commander Sendak, to keep him alive.





	1. Chapter 1

Alarms blared loudly enough that it was difficult to think, much less communicate with anyone. Not that there were many people to communicate with; this ship was manned almost exclusively by sentries. 

Sendak typed the access code in again, but the console only beeped.  _ Access denied.  _

His third attempt. Of all the times for his charge to change the codes to the cockpit…

The ship was going down. There was no getting around that. He didn’t know if the escape pods were still accessible and undamaged, but it was their only option at this point. 

He tried the intercom. “Your Highness, we have to evacuate  _ now _ .” 

“The pods are too badly damaged,” Lotor said.

Another direct hit rocked the ship; Sendak braced himself against the bulkheads, trying to hang on. 

“I’ve still got half a working engine, Commander, and I will land this ship one way or another.”

“It’s too dangerous,” Sendak insisted. Even damaged, the pods were their best bet. The cockpit, on the other hand, was likely to be destroyed completely on impact.

Lotor ignored that. “Brace for impact, Commander, in five-“

The turbulence grew worse. This ship wasn’t really meant for atmospheric conditions under the best circumstances. Now, with one-and-a-half engines out…

“Four-“

Another blast glanced off the stern, resulting in a probably-deadly tailspin.

“Three-“ 

Sendak gritted his teeth and readjusted his stance, bracing himself more firmly.

“Two-“

At the last moment, Lotor regained control somehow, straightening up just as the ship touched down.

It immediately jumped back into the air, before slamming down again and coming to a stop. 

Or, rather, the front half of the ship came to a stop. The back half had sheared off, cartwheeling over the wreckage.

Small electrical fires had started as the wiring began shorting out. They had landed on a vast, grassy plain, and the sparks had already caught the dry grass on fire. 

Sendak had been thrown against the bulkhead on impact, and his entire right side felt bruised but he quickly discovered that he was in remarkable shape, for having just survived a crash landing. Nothing broken, as far as he could tell, and he hadn’t lost consciousness. He was a little dazed, but given the situation…

Black smoke began filling what was left of the fuselage, thick and viscous, almost. A bad sign. As soon as that fire reached the fuel lines… 

The fuel was highly specialized and had a quintessence additive. When the fire reached the fuel lines, it would take mere seconds for it to reach the tanks, and the resulting explosion…

They had to get out of here before that happened.

The electrical systems had fried on impact, and it was shocking easily to push the cockpit hatch open. Being at the front of the ship, it had, naturally, taken the brunt of the landing. 

This model of ship didn’t have seats for its pilots, and Lotor had to have been standing at the controls at the time of impact, leaving him no time to brace.

He’d been thrown on impact, and again when the ship slammed down for the second time, and was currently lying unconscious (hopefully he was  _ only _ unconscious) near the back of the cockpit. 

A couple of small fires had broken out, but Sendak still had a minute to evaluate Lotor before he needed to move him. A spinal fracture could paralyze or kill him, if  Sendak wasn’t careful.

His right leg was obviously broken. Sendak wasn’t a doctor, but he did know that bone wasn’t supposed to be exposed like that. Hopefully that was the extent of his injuries; that was already bad enough. 

Sendak knelt down at his side and felt under his jaw for a pulse. There was one, strong and steady. Thank the gods. 

So he was still alive, at least. 

There was a gash on his forehead, near the hairline, and it bled profusely; head wounds usually did. That and the unconsciousness pointed towards a probable concussion. Not ideal. 

But he was breathing on his own.

A moment later, Lotor roused. “What happened?”

“We crashed,” Sendak said. “Can you feel your legs?”

Lotor frowned. His pupils seemed too big and unfocused; definitely a concussion.

Sendak tapped his knee -of his unbroken leg. “Can you feel that?”

Lotor nodded. He pushed himself up, wincing and putting one hand on his ribs. “We can’t stay here.” He tried to stand, before Sendak could stop him, only to fall over when his broken leg buckled under his weight.

He frowned.

“Can you not feel that?” Sendak asked. Great; he was going into shock. 

“You'll have to splint it,” Lotor said coolly. 

The low whine of ships passed overhead. The raiders who had shot them down in the first place. “There’s no time,” Sendak said. “We need to get out of here.”

“I’m fine,” Lotor insisted; why was he always so stubborn? 

“You can’t walk,” Sendak said. “Even if there was time to splint your leg now, you’d only slow us down.”

“Then why don’t you go and leave me here?” Lotor snapped. “I know you didn’t want this assignment in the first place. What a convenient excuse.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Sendak said. He grabbed the survival kit off the wall and scooped Lotor up, trying not to jostle his broken leg too badly. “The fire is going to reach the fuel line eventually, or the raiders will find us, and I’d rather not be here for either of those things.”

“Put me down,” Lotor snarled, struggling as much as he was able. Which wasn’t much. It seemed his ribs were either bruised or broken, in addition to his concussion and broken leg. He wouldn’t get very far on his own.

“You need to be quiet,” Sendak snapped. “I’m trying to help you.”

“I don’t want your help.”

“Do you want to die here?”

Lotor’s eyes focused momentarily, looking up at Sendak. “Fine.” 

The ships passed overhead again, closer than before. Had he wasted too much time?

Sendak peered out, looking for other signs of life in the wreckage. There weren’t any, but he’d have to move fast; those ships would probably be back soon. 

He picked his way through the wreckage as carefully as possible. He was still carrying Lotor, in both arms because he couldn’t exactly put him over his shoulder with his leg the way it was. And his head needed to stay elevated over the level of his heart, to minimize brain swelling. 

Lotor was sulking, but it didn’t really matter. He needed help, whether he wanted it or not. He was alive, and Sendak was going to do his best to keep him that way.

Fortunately, the environment was on their side. The grass was tall, reaching a few feet over Sendak’s head. He didn’t need to know where they were going; he just needed to keep them out of the hands of the raiders long enough for friendly forces to find them. Lotor had a personal tracking beacon; it wouldn’t be too difficult. 

He walked for maybe half-an-hour in one direction before he stopped. He needed to do something about Lotor’s leg, and they were far enough away from the crash site by now. 

Lotor had lost consciousness again -not a great sign, but it was probably for the best, given what Sendak was about to do -and didn’t stir when Sendak set him down.

Sendak rifled through the survival kit. It was well-stocked, with first aid supplies, food and water for several days, and a few other essentials. 

He had some field medical training -all officers did -and hopefully he could keep Lotor alive until help arrived. 

There were emergency splinting materials, antibiotic cream, and adhesive sutures. Good enough for now. 

He used some of the water to clean out the wound in Lotor’s leg. (Galra had evolved in semi-arid conditions, and could survive with minimal water for some time, so he wasn’t too concerned about rationing it.) 

Before he could think too hard about it, he pulled on Lotor’s leg to straighten it back out.

Lotor screamed as the bone snapped back into place.

“It’s over,” Sendak said, “it’s over. That’s the worst of it.”

Lotor panted, short little breaths, on the verge of hyperventilating. 

“Hey,” Sendak said sternly. “It’s over. I had to do it, but it’s over. Look at me.”

Lotor did, his pupils still dilated and unfocused. 

“Good. You’re going to be alright. Sit still for me, and I’ll get you something for the pain.”

For a moment, Lotor looked like he was going to refuse, but he was clearly in far too much pain for that. He nodded.

Sendak handed him two pills and a pouch of water. “Drink it all. You’ve lost a good bit of blood.”

Lotor did as he was told, probably for the first time in his life. 

“Alright, I need to close the wound in your leg. It might be uncomfortable, but it won’t take long.” He smeared some of the antibiotic cream over everything, making sure to get at least some of it into the wound itself. Lotor would need surgery for this, once they were rescued, but if Sendak could prevent infection from setting in, that would be ideal. 

Lotor hissed at the sting, but held still as Sendak began using the adhesive sutures to close the wound. Then he splinted Lotor’s leg, to keep everything in place; it was unlikely he’d be able to walk on it either way.

Then Sendak cleaned and closed the gash on Lotor’s forehead. “Are you hurt anywhere else?”

Lotor shook his head slowly.

“You sure? What about your ribs?”

“Bruised,” Lotor whispered hoarsely, “not broken.” 

“Alright,” Sendak said. “We need to keep moving, get out of the search radius if possible.”

Lotor nodded and tried to push himself up once again. 

“Absolutely not,” Sendak said. “Stay still.” He packed everything up again, then picked Lotor up.

Lotor growled, but honestly, it wasn’t terribly threatening, and finally, he calmed down. “How long are you going to-?”

“As long as necessary,” Sendak said. 

Lotor looked a little dubious, so Sendak continued: “You aren’t very heavy.”

“You take your duties very seriously,” Lotor huffed.

Of course he did. That and… 

“We’ve wasted enough time. Rest.” 

* * *

By the time the sun was mostly down, Sendak had found a reasonable place for them to hunker down overnight, and for the next few days if necessary. 

He set up camp at the base of a large boulder that blocked the wind, bending the stalks of grass over to prevent them for being spotted from the air, and to provide a bit of shelter. 

In the dry grassland, and with enemies looking for them, he didn’t dare light a fire, but there were emergency blankets in the kit, and if necessary, they could huddle for warmth. 

Lotor was a little better, now that the pain medications had taken full effect. “This part of the planet must have been covered in glaciers at one point,” he said, looking up at the huge boulder. “That would have been deposited around the time they melted, perhaps. Might be why the grass is so tall, too; all of the deposited nutrients…” 

“We’re about forty miles from the crash site, as far as I can tell,” Sendak said. “I’ll keep an eye out, but hopefully we won’t have to move again until rescue comes.”

Lotor nodded. And then Sendak noticed he was shivering slightly. Of course; he didn’t have fur. 

“Here,” Sendak said, draping one of the blankets over his shoulders. “And you should eat something, too.” He handed Lotor a ration bar. 

Lotor nibbled at it, but he didn’t seem especially hungry. Given his concussion, it wasn’t that surprising. 

There wasn’t a whole lot Sendak could do about that right now. He just had to keep Lotor alive until rescue came; after that, he’d be the doctors’ problem. 

At least, that’s what he tried to tell himself. In reality… It wasn’t that simple. 

* * *

Sendak had not been thrilled about his new assignment. He was a high-ranking royal officer, not a babysitter. He was far better than this, and he could be doing a hell of a lot more than watching the Imperial brat.

Zarkon had made it clear, too, that he was little better than a spy anyway. The prince had already survived a number of assassination attempts, apparently, giving Zarkon a reason to assign him a bodyguard. The only reason to assign such a trusted one was because Zarkon wanted to know the prince’s every movement.

Tedious. Sendak could be out conquering planets for the glory of the Empire, commanding his own fleet.

Instead…

Prince Lotor was immediately suspicious of him, and within the first fifteen minutes of being introduced, he accused Sendak of being a spy.

It was accurate, but Sendak wasn’t going to tell him that. 

So neither of them were particularly happy about the arrangement. 

It didn’t particularly help that Prince Lotor had a habit of slipping away to go do whatever he wanted to do anyway. One, Sendak couldn’t exactly protect him if he couldn’t even find him. Two, how the hell was he supposed to make his reports to Zarkon if he had no idea what the fuck the prince was up to?

And he did need to excel at this. Maybe Zarkon would give him a different (better) posting. Maybe this was a test of some sort. Maybe…

After his initial exasperation had passed, about two months in, Sendak started noticing things.

Just small things, at first. There had always been rumors about Prince Lotor, of course: about how he allowed his colonies to rule themselves, about how he fought battles rarely but well, about how he fought those battles alongside his enlisted men, about how his battle plans were crazy but somehow… 

Sendak had never heard of him losing a battle. 

But, in person, he didn’t have to rely on those rumors. 

Lotor rarely went planet-side -not unusual; most commanders didn’t -but when he did, he worked alongside the existing governments of those planets, compromising with them instead of just crushing them beneath his feet.

It wasn’t because he couldn’t do it; he had the firepower. It just...wasn’t necessary. 

More than that, he seemed to take a genuine interest in these backwaters, often wandering around the capital cities while they were there. This was usually how Lotor managed to lose him, and when Sendak found him, he was often repairing something or giving sweets to children or any number of other things no other Commander would ever dream of doing. 

Zarkon always said that Lotor was weak. Soft.

This wasn’t weakness, and if Lotor was soft sometimes, then there were times when he wasn’t. When he was tougher than anyone else. He just...acted as he needed to, not how others expected him to act.

He ran a tight ship, but he wasn’t overly harsh to his crew members. In fact, his lack of cruelty seemed to only make them more loyal, and if Sendak ever asked… He was sure they would all say that they were willing to lay their lives down for  _ Lotor _ , not the Empire, because they knew he’d do the same in return. 

The prince managed to surprise him, too. Pausing his inspections of the engine room to climb down into the assembly in order to troubleshoot a problem himself. Promoting a technician far down the chain of command on intuition alone (she turned out to be the best Communications Officer Lotor had ever had). Pulling Sendak into his rooms one night to play a a few games of  _ elek anvor _ . 

It had been a long time since Sendak had been challenged like that, and… Something had changed that night. He could never quite put his finger on it, but everything seemed  _ different _ , somehow. 

Lotor continued inviting him for sporadic games, and of course they never spoke about it. By the time a year had passed, Sendak was in his rooms almost every night, playing cards or  _ elek anvor _ or something else, sometimes late into the night, and it was what he looked forward to more than anything else.

* * *

Sendak wasn’t sure what had woken him, but his first, instinctive course of action was to look over at his charge.

The night wasn’t cold, exactly. Cool, yes, maybe even chilly, but not cold. It wouldn’t have mattered if it was; there was no way he could risk a fire. 

Lotor’s teeth were chattering, he was shivering so hard. 

Sendak went over to him immediately and felt his forehead; his hand was practically  _ scalded _ . “ _ Fuck _ .” 

Lotor opened his eyes, and even in the dark, they seemed glassy and unfocused. “It’s so  _ cold _ ,” he complained petulantly. “Come keep me warm, Sendak.”

Was that a sincere command, or was Lotor delirious with his obviously high fever? “Are you in pain?”

“Too cold,” Lotor murmured. 

Sendak checked on Lotor’s leg, already dreading what he knew he’d find. 

He was, unfortunately, right. It had been maybe half a day since the break, and yet it was already infected: swollen, draining, hot to the touch.

“Fuck!” Sendak said again. He grabbed the first aid kit and rummaged around in it for antibiotics. It was the only thing he could think to do at this point, and-

“What are you doing?” Lotor asked, suddenly much more lucid than he had been moments ago.

“You need antibiotics.”

“You can’t.”

“Your leg is infected, and it’s only going to spread.”

“If you give me those antibiotics, I won’t have to worry about it,” Lotor snapped, “because I’ll be busy dying of anaphylactic shock.” 

“ _ Fuck! _ ” Sendak said, trying not to shout. Dealing with Lotor’s medical issues wasn’t usually in his purview, so he hadn’t known about this allergy, but what was he supposed to do now? “Alright… I guess we’ll just...have to keep you alive somehow, until we’re rescued.”

Because that was the only acceptable outcome. 

Lotor was back to shivering, his eyes half-closed and too bright. 

Sendak sighed. He really did look very pathetic like this. “You need to rest.”

“Can’t sleep,” Lotor said hoarsely. “Too cold.”

Sendak sighed again. “Alright. Drink this.” He handed Lotor a pouch of water, and managed to get Lotor to drink about half of it. And then… Well, there was no other recourse now, was there? He didn’t dare light a fire, but…

Carefully, mindful of Lotor’s leg and his bruised ribs, he curled up around him and pulled the blanket over him. Lotor nestled as close as physically possible, and gradually, he warmed up enough to stop shivering and sleep.

* * *

It was a restless night for both of them. Sendak woke every time ships passed nearby, which, given the search going on for them, was pretty frequently. But they hadn’t been found yet, by either side.

Lotor woke around dawn, gasping in pain,  tears streaking down his face, struggling in Sendak’s hold.

Sendak held him tighter; he didn’t want Lotor to hurt himself even more. “Lotor! Lotor, calm down. Take a deep breath for me.”

Lotor shook his head, once more on the verge of hyperventilating. 

His fever seemed even worse now, and the infection was surely spreading. The half-remembered medical field training Sendak had undergone had taught him that it only took three days for sepsis to kill someone, and-

He didn’t know what to do. 

At the beginning of this assignment, before he’d gotten to know Lotor, maybe he would have been pleased by this turn of events. With Lotor dead, he could be assigned elsewhere, maybe to a fleet of his own, and…

But that was before, and now…

He opened the kit back up and got some more pain medication. “Lotor,” he said as calmly as he could manage. “I’m going to help you sit up, so you can have something for the pain, alright?”

Lotor nodded and took the medication without question.

“Good,” Sendak said, smoothing his hair back and feeling his forehead again. Definitely hotter than last night. 

Without the boulder behind him, Lotor wouldn’t have been able to keep himself upright. He was generally strong and healthy, but the infection was taking a toll on him, and they had three days, maybe… 

Sendak had no way of knowing when rescue would arrive, no way of knowing if they were even on their way, but-

He took another look at Lotor’s leg. 

In the morning light, it looked far worse. The sutures were barely holding the swollen flesh together, and the fluid draining from the wound was nearly white. Ideally, it would have been clear, or perhaps pinkish. 

Even if rescue reached them in time to save Lotor’s life, they might not be able to save the leg. That wouldn’t be so bad, really, but rescue had to actually get here first. 

Sendak smeared some more antibiotic cream on the wound, and honestly, it was like trying to plug a hull breach with a piece of electrical tape. The damage was done.

Lotor watched with glazed-over eyes, whimpering softly with the pain, but otherwise doing nothing. 

Sendak hated that. Lotor was stubborn. He was supposed to fight. And it was like he was just...giving up. 

But what else could Sendak do for him?

* * *

 

Lotor lapsed back into a troubled sleep for the better part of the morning, so Sendak did an inventory of their supplies.

Not much, really, in the face of all the problems they currently had, but it would have to do. 

He divided the pouches of water into allotments for the next three days. If rescue didn’t come by that point, it probably wouldn’t matter one way or another, but if he could help Lotor by at least keeping him hydrated, then that was  _ something _ . 

He considered tossing the antibiotics, so he wouldn’t accidentally use them, but ultimately decided against it. If things got really bad… He had treatments for allergic reactions. Maybe he could trade one problem for a slightly less bad one. 

And finally, Lotor woke again, bolting upright, his eyes wide and bright and unseeing. “No, Father, please don’t- I’m sorry! I won’t do it again. Please don’t-“

“Lotor,” Sendak said. He was obviously delirious now, lost to his fever-dreams. “Lotor, no one’s going to-“ He didn’t even know. He didn’t know what Zarkon had done to prompt this reaction, but… Lotor’s fear was real enough. “You’re safe here.”

Safe enough at the moment, anyway.

Not that it mattered, because it didn’t seem that Lotor had heard him. He shrank back against the boulder, bracing himself for- What? What  _ had _ Zarkon done to him? 

Fresh tears streamed down his face, and he shook again, in  _ fear _ , pleading for mercy, and it was-

Sendak couldn’t take it anymore. He crouched down at Lotor’s side, placing his hand on Lotor’s shoulder. “Hey, look at me?”

Lotor did, wild-eyed. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said, bringing one hand up to cup Sendak’s cheek. “You’ll- He’ll hurt you worse, and he’ll make me watch, and then he’ll-“

“He’s not here right now,” Sendak said firmly. “I will keep you safe, alright?”

“He’ll find us,” Lotor said, panicked. “You have to go. Please, just go!”

“I’m not going anywhere. We’re alone, we’re safe.”

He was close enough to see the cloud of confusion lift from Lotor’s eyes. “...Sendak?” He snatched his hand away as if he’d been burned, and he looked…  _ flustered _ . 

Sendak nodded. 

“No updates?” Lotor asked, trying to use his “heir to the throne” voice, once more lucid.

“We have not been rescued yet, Your Highness,” Sendak said, taking his hand off of Lotor’s shoulder. “We have enough supplies to last a week, if necessary.”

A small lie-by-omission, one he didn’t expect Lotor to immediately point out: “If we are not rescued in the next few days, this infection is going to kill me.”

Sendak hesitated before nodding. “That was my assessment, as well.”

“There’s no point in trying to amputate,” Lotor said. “The infection’s spread. Bring the first aid kit over.”

Sendak handed it to him, and Lotor rifled through it. Finally, he handed a vial to Sendak. “This is a vasopressor. If I start going into septic shock, you’ll have to administer it; it should raise my blood pressure enough to keep me alive.”

“For how long?”

“Long enough, with luck.” He popped open another bottle and dry-swallowed a handful of pain medication. 

Sendak handed him a water pouch; Lotor drained it without comment. 

“In the meantime, I suppose there’s nothing to be done.”

“You should rest,” Sendak said. 

“I’ve never been this sick in my life,” Lotor grouched. “This is terrible.” He pulled the blanket back over himself, closing his eyes. 

* * *

It went on like that all day, with Lotor sleeping restlessly and suffering through his fever-dreams in turns. Sendak couldn’t force him to eat, whether he was lucid or not, but he did manage to get him to drink whenever he was aware and  _ present _ . 

The fever-dreams were bad. That much Sendak knew from how Lotor acted and what he said while he was in their grip. Zarkon didn’t feature in all of them, but Lotor at least mentioned him most of the time.

The thing was… As bad as the fever-dreams were, at least Lotor wasn’t in pain during them. The pain medication they had was only strong enough to take the bare edge off, and while Lotor was good at hiding it, Sendak had spent pretty much every waking moment with him for the last two years. It had been, quite literally, his job to keep an eye on him, and consequently, he knew.

And there was nothing he could do, about any of it. Amputation hadn’t crossed his mind until Lotor dismissed the idea, but he’d been completely right about it. The infection had already spread, and the resulting blood loss would only weaken Lotor further. 

He was so far out of his depth here, but of the two of them, he was the only one capable of making rational decisions right now. He just didn’t know what to do. How to help.

The coming night seemed like it would be colder than the previous night, and while Sendak still wasn’t going to risk a fire, there was at least one thing he could do for Lotor.

Lotor complained when Sendak took the blanket from him, but he calmed down when Sendak curled up around him and draped the blanket over both of them. It would be easier to share body heat like that, and Lotor was shivering already, even though the sun had barely set. 

Lotor radiated heat, due to the fever, which seemed...really high, but with the night set to be chilly, Sendak didn’t exactly want to try to cool him off any. 

“Rest,” Sendak murmured, even as Lotor tucked his head under Sendak’s chin, clutching at his chest. Even through Sendak’s thick fur, his fingers were cold. “Save your strength.”

He’d need it. 

* * *

Lotor seemed worse in the morning. He could barely lift his head when Sendak tried to get some water into him, and even when he wasn’t in the midst of some unreal terror, the fog in his eyes never quite lifted. 

Tomorrow. They needed to be rescued  _ tomorrow _ , at the latest. 

Despite the fever, Lotor’s hands were freezing cold, and he was becoming gaunt, since he wasn’t willing to eat, and this couldn’t go on much longer. 

Lotor seemed to know it, too, even in current mental state. Around midday, he tried to push himself upright. He couldn’t manage it on his own, so Sendak helped him, propping him up against the boulder.

“Sendak,” he said, “don’t argue with me. I don’t have the strength to argue right now.” Even that seemed to tax him, and he had to catch his breath before he continued. “If no one’s come for us by tomorrow morning, I want you to leave.”

“ _ No _ ,” Sendak said vehemently. “I’m not leaving- I’m not abandoning my duty.”

“We will be found by the raiders eventually,” Lotor said. “Take the tracker and go. Get as far away from the crash site as possible. You’ll be able to cover more ground without me slowing you down.”

“What about you!?”

“Leave your sidearm. I’ll…” He trailed off, pausing again to catch his breath. “I’ll do what I need to do. Tell my father I died in the crash, or… It doesn’t matter. As long as you survive.”

“As long as  _ I  _ survive!” Sendak said incredulously. “Lotor-“

“Don’t,” Lotor said. “You’ll be free of your assignment this way. I just… I want to have some dignity left, at the end.”

“You’re not going to die,” Sendak insisted. 

Lotor tried to laugh, but it took too much out of him. “I didn’t know you cared, Commander.”

“Lotor-“ Sendak began. 

He caught the sound of rustling grass. Not unusual, exactly, except that the wind had died down.

He got into a crouch, readying himself. He signalled for Lotor to remain quiet, and Lotor nodded once. 

The rustling got louder, coming closer…

Three raiders -Sendak assumed; they weren’t the Galra rescue team, at the very least - burst into the little clearing.

They weren’t... _ disciplined _ , in the way that Galra soldiers were, and Sendak dispatched them easily and efficiently. 

“ _ Fuck _ ,” he cursed, after, staring at their remains. Someone would miss them eventually, and while Sendak didn’t know if they had trackers or comms or- anything, really, surely the rest of the raiders had some way of checking in with them.

His first instinct was to leave, get as far from here as he could.

Lotor was too weak to be moved. He couldn’t walk; he could barely lift his head at this point, and even breathing was difficult for him. If Sendak had to carry him, what would happen if they were caught off-guard? He couldn’t fight like that. 

He checked on Lotor, before he did anything else. None of the raiders had gotten close enough to hurt him, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

“Are you alright?” Sendak asked, crouching down next to him, so he could find Lotor’s pulse under his jaw. It was racing, abnormally fast.

“My fierce protector,” Lotor murmured, smiling softly.

Sendak flushed, and it only grew hotter when Lotor turned his head enough to rub his cheek against Sendak’s wrist.

Sendak hastily stepped back, out of reach, and turned to- to do literally anything other than try and fend off Lotor’s febrile... _ advances _ ? He clearly wasn’t in his right mind.

He rifled through the raiders’ gear, not finding much of interest. A few weapons that he wouldn’t need, some ration bars, more water. 

Finally… He didn’t particularly want the bodies around, so he made the decision to drag them a ways away.

“Lotor,” Sendak said, trying to get his attention. “I’m going to leave for a few minutes, but I’ll be right back.”

Lotor’s eyes were closed, but he nodded. “You don’t have to lie. Go, if you’re going to go.”

“I will be back,” Sendak said firmly. 

 

By the time Sendak finished disposing of the bodies, Lotor was sound asleep again, curled up as small as he could get. 

Sendak used the opportunity to check on Lotor’s leg again.

It was worse, and while Sendak had seen some pretty bad battle injuries -and had some pretty bad battle injuries himself -this still managed to turn his stomach. 

If only he knew with any certainty when rescue would get here. He hated seeing Lotor suffer like this, and if he knew that rescue wouldn’t come in time, then… 

Wouldn’t that be kinder than making him live through all this pain for no purpose? 

On the other hand, he didn’t want Lotor to die. Once, maybe, he wouldn’t have cared one way or the other, but now…

He roused Lotor long enough to get some water into him, and to give him another dose of painkillers.

To his dismay, that was the last of it, and…

He still had no idea when rescue would come. It would come, eventually, but it might already be too late at that point, and then all of this was for nothing, and he would have  _ failed _ . 

He coaxed Lotor into laying back down, with his head in Sendak’s lap, while Sendak leaned against the boulder and kept watch.

Tomorrow. 

* * *

Lotor woke a few hours after sunset.

It was not a good thing. 

He’d been whimpering in his sleep for some time already, but waking up meant he was completely aware of how much pain he was in.

There was nothing Sendak could do. Absolutely nothing, except stroke Lotor’s hair as he shook with  _ agony _ .

Sendak couldn’t imagine the level of pain he had to be in. He’d lost both an eye and an arm before, due to battle injuries, but they hadn’t been allowed to fester like this.

Even disregarding that, seeing Lotor, normally stoic and poised, break down like this was… Sendak knew he had a high pain tolerance, but this was bad enough to make him cry.

Sendak repositioned them so he could curl up around him, hold him close -for slightly selfish reasons on his part, but it did seem to help Lotor a little - and Lotor just clung to him like a lifeline.

When it was over, when Lotor caught his breath and stopped shaking quite so much, he glanced up at Sendak, his eyes bright with unshed tears and fever. “I’m scared,” he whispered. 

“It’s going to be alright,” Sendak said, although he wasn’t sure about that himself. “You’re going to be alright.”

“I don’t want to die,” Lotor whispered. 

“You’re not going to die,” Sendak insisted. 

Lotor laughed weakly. “I’m not sure you get much say in the matter.” 

“You can’t die,” Sendak said firmly. “Not when I just realized-“ He stopped himself; he didn’t know how much Lotor was likely to remember, but- 

“What?” Lotor asked drowsily, his eyes falling shut again. 

“That I love you,” Sendak breathed.

Lotor’s eyes shot open, and he stared for a moment. “...What?”

“I think I love you,” Sendak repeated, “and I want to have the time to- to talk about it, with you, so you can’t die.”

“Oh,” Lotor said, with a soft laugh. “I’d wondered why you hadn’t left me for dead yet.” And then his eyes closed, and his head lolled back, and he went completely limp, and-

“Lotor!” Sendak scrambled to prop Lotor up, so maybe he could breathe a little easier.  _ Shit shit shit  _

He found Lotor’s pulse, barely. It was too weak, dangerously fast…

He found the vial of vasopressors and hoped that Lotor had been lucid when they’d had that conversation, before sticking the needle in his neck.

Lotor didn’t so much as twitch.

“Stay with me, Lotor,” Sendak pleaded. “ _ Please _ .” 

* * *

 

Sendak hadn’t meant to doze off -he’d wanted to stay awake, just in case something happened -but he’d only had a few hours of restless sleep over the last few days. 

Something was beeping, and it took him a moment to realize it was the tracker, notifying him that  _ someone was coming.  _

He’d never felt so relieved in his life. 

He checked on Lotor -still unconscious, but still  _ alive _ . “Just a little longer,” Sendak murmured, brushing Lotor’s hair back.

Some of the intense, mind-numbing worry dissipated: Lotor was alive, and rescue would be here within the hour. This was almost over. Lotor would make it.

“You just have to hold on a little longer.”

Sendak had never been so happy to see a Galra cruiser before. He ran to meet them. “Medics, now,” he snapped. “Prince Lotor is badly injured.”

Of course they did not disobey him, and in short order, Lotor was being loaded onto the cruiser, a bevy of medics shouting orders.

And...it was over. For better or worse, this excursion was over. It was out of his hands now.

He was not allowed into the infirmary, so he made use of the guest quarters to shower and sleep and  _ wait _ . 


	2. Chapter 2

Everything hurt. It was dull, and faraway, but it still cut through the mental fog. 

He couldn’t figure out where he was for a long moment. He didn’t remember, and this wasn’t his own ceiling above his head.

Lotor finally gathered enough strength to turn his head.

An infirmary, although this was the only bed. Perhaps aboard one of his own ships, then. 

There was a chair nearby, and in it, Sendak was fast asleep, hunched over in what had to be an uncomfortable position. 

“Sendak?” Lotor whispered. It was difficult to hold onto his thoughts, to arrange them in a way that made sense, but… Had he dreamed that Sendak-?

Sendak started awake, glancing around quickly before his gaze settled on Lotor. He looked  _ relieved _ . And tired. But mostly relieved. He stood and came over to the bedside. “How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

“You look exhausted,” Lotor said.

“I just returned from Central Command,” Sendak said. “It was a long trip.”

Lotor frowned. “Then why are you still here? Didn’t my father offer you a different position?

“He did,” Sendak replied neutrally. Tentatively, he reached out and brushed some hair back from Lotor’s face.

Lotor felt like he couldn’t breathe. 

Sendak pulled back, far too soon, and poured Lotor a glass of water. “Here,” he said, helping Lotor sit up enough to drink.

Lotor drained the glass, suddenly thirsty. “Thank you.” 

“How are you feeling?” Sendak asked again. 

“Tired,” Lotor answered honestly. “Still weak. How long-?”

“Almost two weeks,” Sendak replied. “They weren’t entirely sure you were going to make it.”

“I’m not going to let some infection kill me,” Lotor huffed.

Sendak looked at him for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. “It almost did.”

“Would that have been so bad?” Lotor asked. “For you, anyway?”

“Lotor…” 

Lotor shook his head. He didn’t want to get into that. “What did they do to me?” The lower half of his body was covered in a blanket, so he couldn’t tell… 

Sendak’s ears twitched, probably in irritation at the sudden change of subject. “They had to operate. They were able to save your leg, but they had to replace the lower half of your right femur and the entire knee with a titanium alloy implant. They still aren’t sure how you managed to break your femur.”

“It’s not as if _ I  _ remember,” Lotor said. He remembered his ship being shot down, and then nothing until… something about glaciers? No, he remembered the pain of having Sendak splint his leg, the calming voice he’d used. 

“You’re on bedrest for the next two weeks,” Sendak said firmly, “and I will be enforcing that.”

“I’m sure,” Lotor said. He was going to lose his mind if he was stuck here for two weeks. Of course, if Sendak was going to stay here to enforce his bedrest… Playing cards would help pass the time. “Pass me the chart?”

Sendak did, and Lotor flipped through the various pages on the tablet. Everything was as Sendak had said: the operation, the implant…

He was grateful that they hadn’t given him a prosthetic. The Witch would have been called in specifically to handle that, and who knew what additions she’d make without his knowledge? The implant couldn’t be hacked -it was just metal and ceramic. 

“Why are you still here?” Lotor asked, trying to quell the surge of hope in his chest. There were a number of reasons that Sendak might want to stay. Maybe he thought he might learn something about Lotor that would get him back into Zarkon’s good graces. Maybe… 

“You almost died,” Sendak said.

“And?”

Sendak sighed. “I realized… I thought you were going to die in my arms, Lotor, and you almost did. The doctors said that if they’d been even an hour later, you probably wouldn’t have made it. And I… I was afraid. I was afraid of losing you. Not of failing my duty, not of my emperor’s punishment. Of losing  _ you _ .”

“What do you mean?” Lotor asked, trying to disguise his breathlessness. He wanted… He hoped… But surely… Surely someone like Sendak wouldn’t want someone like him. “I...I  _ remember _ ...but surely… I must have been mistaken, or…”

“You remember?” Sendak asked, startled and… apprehensive? No, not quite. 

Lotor nodded slowly. “You said that you- you  _ loved _ me, but that- that couldn’t be right.”

Sendak was silent for a very long moment. “Why not?”

Not the response Lotor had been expecting. “Why not?” He repeated. “I… I mean, look at me. What do I have to offer? I’m… And no one has ever...loved me before, so I…” He turned away, to disguise the tears that were beginning to build in the corners of his eyes; they’d have to fall eventually, and Sendak was the last person he wanted to see that. “I didn’t think anyone could. So if this is some kind of- of prank, or if you just said it because -I don’t know -you thought it might motivate me to stay alive, or… whatever… Just stop. I don’t like having my feelings played with.”

“I would never do that to you,” Sendak said quietly, firmly, earnestly. “I’ve come to care about you too much to hurt you like that.” Very tentatively, he reached out again, to stroke Lotor’s cheek, and it was…

Lotor’s breath caught in his throat, and he had to fight to resist leaning into it. “You...meant it?” He asked, hating the way his voice trembled. 

“Yes,” Sendak said. “I love you.”

Lotor couldn’t find anything to say to that. This was the first time anyone had told him that, and he didn’t know… What was he supposed to say?

“I will leave, if you want me to,” Sendak said after a moment. “If it makes you uncomfortable, or if you think it’s unprofessional, or…”

Lotor looked down at the chart he was still holding onto, then down at his feet -which he could barely move right now, he was so weak -then, finally, back up at Sendak. “I won’t be able to walk on my own for sometime even after my stint of bedrest is over, and it will take me even longer to relearn how to fight and defend myself. Months, or maybe even years… I suppose, what I’m trying to say is… I might require a bodyguard in that time, and you have done such an exemplary job of keeping me alive thus far, so…”

Sendak laughed softly. “That’s a roundabout way of asking me to stay.”

“You want to, though, don’t you?”

“If I had my way,” Sendak said quietly, “I would never let you out of my sight again, Lotor.”

“Never?”

“Not ever,” Sendak said firmly, half-teasing and half-serious. 

“My fierce protector,” Lotor said.

He hadn’t expected Sendak’s ears to go all the way back, as he turned away and avoided Lotor’s gaze. 

Had he managed to fluster the ever-stoic Commander Sendak? 

He tucked the information away for later. “If you’re going to stay, you might as well come here,” he said softly. “You look exhausted.”

Sendak looked startled, his eyes wide. “Is that what you want?”

“Yes,” Lotor whispered, almost afraid to admit it out loud. 

Sendak appeared to consider it for a moment, but he finally nodded and walked around the end of the bed, to the side that didn’t have all of the wires and tubes trailing off it. 

Lotor tried to pull the blanket back for him, but he was too weak still; Sendak didn’t mention it, just carefully placed his hand over Lotor’s to help him and climbed in.

It was all so much: the proximity, the gentle touches, the fact that  _ Sendak loved him?  _ And Lotor didn’t know what to do about it. He’d never had this before.

Sendak, meanwhile, gently pressed a kiss to Lotor’s forehead. “Rest. You’ve been through a lot.”

Lotor was tired; he’d been tired since he woke up, but now it was catching back up to him. Still, it occurred to him that this was the first time Sendak had kissed him. (Surely, if it had happened while they were stranded, he would have remembered.)

“You kissed me,” he said, a little stunned at how... _ nice _ it was. 

“Should I not have?” Sendak asked, suddenly worried.

“No, I just… It was nice. No one’s ever kissed me before, is all.”

Sendak sighed. “Oh, Lotor…” He put his arm around his shoulders, carefully guiding him into laying down with his head on Sendak’s chest. (It was  _ incredibly _ nice.) “There will be time for all that later. I promise.”

”Alright,” Lotor conceded. “I’m going to hold you to that.” Between Sendak’s presence, the steady beat of his heart, and the undeniable comfort not being completely alone for once, it was easy to close his eyes and drift off.

**Author's Note:**

> Original prompt: Prince/Protector! In which Sendak gets assigned to be Lotor’s bodyguard. Zarkon does it so Sendak can help him spy on Lotor and control him better, Lotor is suspicious of Sendak cause he suspects the whole spying idea, Sendak is just kinda exasperated because Zarkon is making him do this and he’s not just a bodyguard, he’s better than that. But he spends a bit more time with Lotor and notices how he is strong And courageous and cunning and just so good. So the icy walls start to melt as he starts understanding Lotor and genuinely appreciating him because he just keeps surprising him at every turn. And one day they’re on their way somewhere and their envoy gets attacked and they crash on a small planet and Lotor gets pretty badly hurt cause he saved them with his piloting skills (but that meant he’d be in the area that’d take the brunt of the crash) so his leg is broken and some ribs and he probably Has a concussion and basically Sendak pulls him out of the flaming wreckage of the ship. They need to hide cause the people who shot the down are probably looking for them but Lotor is Lotor which means he’s stubborn af and he doesn’t want to need Sendak’s help. But there’s no time so Sen has to just pick him up and carry him, despite Lotor’s protests. And like I said I love tropes soooo... not risking a fire and having to share body heat? Also Sendak bandaging Lotor’s wounds? And during this little excursion Sendak keeps doing his best to keep Lotor alive, even when he comes down with a fever, and Lotor realizes that maybe he actually doesn’t want me to die??? Weird! And yeah I guess they get rescued and Sendak probably never leaves Lotor’s side again. Maybe there’s some confessions from Sen while Lotor is dying of the fever and he just says really sweet stuff about how Lotor can’t die when Sen just realized he really likes/loves him, Lotor remembers everything And yeah maybe Lotor even answers in his state (but that he definitely doesn’t remember). And yeah they get rescued and idk I just have this mental image of Lotor calling Sendak his fierce protector (maybe he fought off some attackers also while Lotor was so weak he couldn’t lift his head and he remembers that vividly) and Sendak getting very flustered.


End file.
